Between the end of the Civil War and 1900, educated Americans reacted against Victorian values. In the first in a series of e-seminars, Casey Blake describes the new attitudes about the future, the separation of the sexes, masculinity, and the role of women. He concludes by reflecting on the beginnings of modernism at the end of the nineteenth century. Enter.
By the end of the nineteenth century, science and technology were exerting a tremendous influence on life in the United States. In this second e-seminar of the series, Casey Nelson Blake explores why Darwin's ideas seemed so revolutionary and how Darwinism helped to move the United States toward a more secular and scientific modern culture. Enter.
In this third e-seminar of the series Intellectual and Cultural History of the United States, 1890-1945, Casey Nelson Blake explores the philosophy of pragmatism, details the lives and contributions of James and Dewey, and describes the critiques of pragmatist thought. Enter.
In this fourth e-seminar of the series Intellectual and Cultural History of the United States, 1890-1945, Casey Nelson Blake presents the range of early-twentieth-century responses to immigration, including arguments for diversity and the contribution of W.E.B. Du Bois. Enter.
In this fifth seminar in the series Intellectual and Cultural History of the United States, 1890–1945, Casey Blake explores the prewar intellectual scene and the repercussions of President Wilson's decision to join the conflict in Europe. Enter.
In this seminar, the sixth of the series Intellectual and Cultural History of the United States, 1890–1945, Professor Casey Nelson Blake describes the consumer culture of the 1920s and Middle America's ambivalent embrace of it. Enter.
In this seminar, the seventh of the series Intellectual and Cultural History of the United States, 1890–1945, Professor Casey Nelson Blake elucidates the impact of the Great Depression, the radical critiques that arose in response, and the legacy of a new form of culture celebrating "the people." Enter.